As the Sea
by HorribleFanfics
Summary: Once strangers, a few chance meetings bring Bo and Perry into each other's acquaintance. As their relationship develops, they discover facets of each other as innumerable and captivating as those of the sea. The only way to describe the way their lives change after meeting is to imagine the vastness of the sea, and that's how they like it. (BoPerry)
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Harvest Moon franchise or any of the characters in the series. I am just writing the story. Also, I took my own liberties with the characters and their back stories. All the ideas used in this story are mine, it is just the characters and universe that are not. Thank you._

Chapter 1

"Finally!" Bo shouted as he scooted the minecart forward with his foot and it rolled rather smoothly. He never thought he'd get this old piece of junk to work, but here he'd finally done it! He carefully stepped into it and pushed himself a few feet to make sure it could still roll with the added weight, then stepped gleefully out and sprinted to the shop.

"Dale!" he yelled,swinging the door wide open. "It works! I got it to work!"

Dale squinted his eyes and stroked his mustache thoughtfully as he stared at Bo, whose chest was heaving raggedly from the excited dash he'd just made. After a few minutes of ponderous grazing, his eyes widened and he stood and started walking toward Bo, arms outstretched. "The minecart?" Bo nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, my boy!" Dale exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders firmly. "Good work, really,excellent job!" He then pulled Bo into a large hug, and upon releasing him said, "Take it on a trip down to the town, see how it works. Take the rest of the day off. I'm so glad!" With a reassuring pat on the head, he sent Bo back out the door and into the sunny spring day.

Take the day off! Bo had never heard Dale say something like that, even to Luke! He was back at the cart and sitting down in a heartbeat, flying down the tracks and toward the town quicker than ever before, the wind rustling his sandy hair and the sunshine warming his smiling face. He was at the town much faster than he'd anticipated, and he found himself somewhat disappointed that the ride had not lasted longer.

He stepped out of the cart and walked past the graveyard. He looked away from it uncomfortably, wondering why the cart had to let him out by such a gloomy locale. He picked up his pace until he reached the plaza in front of the church. Typically there were not many people found in the church area, and this day did not prove to be any different. He looked around the empty area at the fringe of surrounding flowers, and had started to walk across to get a good view of the sea when he heard a faint noise coming from behind him.

He turned around to see a small black cat following after him, mewing softly as it approached. He knelt down to pet its head and admire its soft delicacy. "Hey, little guy," he whispered, barely audible. "Pretty rough out here all by your lonesome, huh? Yeah, I know. I know how you feel."

He'd always felt a sort of connection with the stray animals around town. They didn't have anybody waiting for them or anybody taking care of them. All they had was themselves. He wished he could take one home with him, but he hasn't the slightest clue how to care for an animal. Before he got too attached, he stopped petting the cat and stood to continue walking toward the beautiful view that was waiting, ignoring the louder cries of the cat and its insistence at his heels. After a while, it gave up its pursuit and sauntered back over to where it had been, lying down to wait for the next passerby.

Bo looked out over the sea from his excellent vantage point near the cliffs. He thought the sea looked especially beautiful at this time of day when the sun's rays were so unhindered by clouds. He loved the way all the little diamonds danced along the waves, gifts from the sun on such a fantastic day. Most people liked the fading romantic hues cast by the sunrise and sunset, hushed tones that spread over everything softly until they disappeared, but he'd always preferred the way the sun gave everything it had to the sea in the middle of the day, and the sea returned it fully to show the sun its own beauty. That, he felt, was much more romantic than the subtle oranges and reds crawling across the purpled waters in the evenings.

As Bo stared out over the water and marveled at the spectacle before him, he heard a muffled thud followed by a series of the same muted sound far behind him. He turned slightly to see what the source of the noise was.

He saw a man walking purposefully but softly toward the cat, his swift steps stirring up the stray leaves on the pavement without making much noise at all. As Bo watched him, he noticed there was a certain carefulness to his stride, and a practiced ease that suggested he'd spent years walking in this unobtrusive manner, gracefuland strong, yet nearly silent. The man, around the same age as Bo, had sleek hair that moved with the wind from every step and held both hands behind his back, something concealed between them. As he drew nearer to the feline, he hunched his back and bent his knees gradually more until he was kneeling on the ground beside it.

At first, Bo thought he meant to scare the poor thing away and briefly panicked. However, after a few more moments, he realized that couldn't possibly be the man's intention. Bo could see, though he was at a bit of a distance, that there was an overwhelming gentleness to the man's features. His eyes were soft and rounded, and his mouth had a natural gentle slope upward at the corners that was always suggestive of a smile. Even his manner of walking screamed gentleness, his light footsteps not marking deeply on the ground and his quiet speed designed not to bother anyone. Bo was sure that if he were closer he'd see wrinkles lightly imprinted next to his eyes from frequent laughter and abundant smiles.

As the man knelt beside the cat and looked down at it, his shiny hair slid forward smoothly. He moved his hands around to the front of his body to reveal the can of cat food he'd been hiding. The cat sprang to its feet happily at the man pulled the tab and opened the can. When he set it down and the cat started eating, he smiled, a broad, genuine smile that lit up his soft features and added to their gentleness. He pet the cat softly while looking down at it under a frame of thick eyelashes.

After a few seconds of watching the scene, Bo whispered to himself, "Guess we're not so alike after all."


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I still do not own the Harvest Moon franchise or any characters therein. I have taken my own personal liberties with the characters in this story and do not imply that they are true within the game._

_Also I'm sorry there wasn't really a hook or anything in the first chapter. I appreciate if you read/liked it regardless and I hope that you will continue reading anyway. I promise it will not be the worst thing you've ever read. Thank you._

Chapter 2

Bo was sitting at his workbench fiddling away at some project when he realized that at that very moment, down on the sea beyond the church, the sun was throwing its rays down in its most splendid show and he was missing it. A few days ago, when he'd been allowed to leave early for fixing the minecart, was the first time in a long while when he'd been able to see the sun shining over the water at his favorite time. He hoped for a swift end to his workday, swift enough that maybe he could see the final moments of that glorious noon sea from the cliff side near the church. Maybe he could pay a small visit to the cat, too.

The cat. Ah, he remembered, the cat doesn't need me to visit it. The cat has that man from the church, the gentle man with the quiet stride, taking care of it. Who was that man, anyway? Bo found himself combing his brain for some type of memory of who the man was. They lived in the same town, after all. They ought to know each other. He smacked himself in the face. Why did he care? Was it just the cat? He shook his head. It's weird to think about strange men, Bo, he told himself.

"Ah, Perry!" Dale cheered as the bells above the door jingled, signaling an entrance. "Good to see you, as always. What brings you all the way up here?"

Perry? The name didn't ring any bells for Bo. He looked up to Dale, then followed his line of sight to the slightly hunched young man that had just walked in. He nearly shoved his hand down his throat to restrain his enormous gasp. It was the same gentle figure he'd seen just a few days ago feeding the cat in front of the church, the very same man he'd just been thinking about. Bo realized quickly, however, that he was quite different now from then. His gait was more awkward and shuffling, and he stared intensely at the ground while wringing his hands together furiously. Was he nervous? Bo wanted to ask him why his demeanor was so different, but caught himself when he remembered. Perry hadn't been aware of his presence.

Bo averted his eyes immediately as he felt a strong blush rising in his cheeks. After not only watching him silently from a distance but also thinking about him randomly in the middle of the day, Bo felt extremely embarrassed at having to be in the same room as Perry, especially because Perry had no idea either of those things had occurred. He tried to hide the heat in his face with his hands, but to no avail. His whole face burned bright red as he stared intently at the work in front of him.

But why exactly was he blushing so much? It wasn't as if he had been thinking any lewd thoughts, or staring because he had some weird obsession. He was just watching him feed a cat. But wasn't that strange itself? It's not often that a person watches someone else feed a cat. But he wasn't watching for the cat-feeding, he was just momentarily mesmerized by the way Perry walked and held himself. That's WORSE, Bo screamed internally, and his blush grew an even fiercer shade of crimson.

"You okay over there, Bo?" Dale called, concerned, and Bo nodded tensely. "Here, come over here and say hello to Perry. He's fairly new to town, so you probably haven't seen him around."

"H-hello there," Bo stammered, face still burning. "I'm B-B-Bo." He frowned when he heard himself stuttering. Ever since he was young, he'd had a stutter, but recently it hadn't been occurring very much. He'd thought he was finally over it, but apparently not.

"Nice to meet you," Perry said, his voice small and quiet, as he reached out to shake Bo's hand. "I'm Perry. Er, well, you already, uh, know that, I guess." Bo gripped his hand, and he found it to be almost painfully cold, especially considering the warmth of the day. Or maybe his own hand was just too hot? He couldn't tell.

"Anyway," Dale cleared his throat. "Perry says he needs a little repair work done on one of the pews at the church. Since Luke's busy building that extreme desk for Gill, would you mind going and taking a look?"

Bo sighed, but nodded nonetheless. Luke always got to go do whatever he wanted while Bo was always stuck with the boring jobs. He wasn't sure if it was intentional favoritism on Dale's part, but it certainly felt that way. He could always see a twinkle in Dale's eye and a proud smile on his face whenever he talked to or about Luke. When he spoke with Bo, though, his face was merely that of a superior facing his subordinate. Bo tried to ignore, but with Luke always around, it was hard.

Bo looked to Perry to see if he was ready to go, but he got distracted in noticing the uncommon prettiness of Perry's features. He had eyelashes, long and thick, framing his tender hazel eyes. His lips were light and smooth, but still stood out cleanly from his unblemished skin. His hair was clean and shiny, and fell gracefully, framing his face. The thing Bo noticed most, though, were the slight wrinkles at the outer corners of his eyes, the wrinkled Bo had imagined might be there just the other day. He felt almost relieved that they actually existed, but he couldn't quite tell why.

Only when Perry turned to leave the shop did Bo snap out of his trance. He hadn't realized he'd been staring until what he'd been staring at was no longer there. He tried to push the fact that he'd been staring far from his mind, but he still remained nervous nonetheless. He'd felt a little strange since the other day, and now he was having trouble keeping Perry off his mind. What was going on?

Perry started leading the way toward the bridge, but Bo tapped him on the shoulder before he'd traveled too far. "There's a m-m-minecart over th-that way," he said, pointing. "It's f-f-f-faster." He cursed under his breath when he realized how much worse his stammer was getting.

When the two men reached the minecart, one thing simultaneously occurred to both of them: The cart was decidedly too small for two people. But it was also true that it would take far too long to make two trips, since the cart climbed back up lazily when it was empty. Bo needed to assess the situation and get back to Dale as quickly as possible to make the arrangements to get all the wood they would need by tomorrow, but he wouldn't be able to get into the church or know where to look for damage without Perry. Given that the work day was ending soon, the only solution was for them to take one trip in the minecart together.

The pair jammed uncomfortably into the minecart, tucking their legs in. Both of them felt uneasy being in such close proximity with an unfamiliar man, especially Bo, who looked pointedly away from Perry, behind whom he was sitting. They were so tense the entire ride that neither of them enjoyed the wind or the sun or the view, which in other circumstances they would've both admired greatly. But in this situation, they just sat uncomfortably, Bo staring off intently and Perry staring at his knees, until they'd reached the ground near the graveyard.

When they climbed out of the cart, Bo continued to look away, but now it was not from Perry but the graveyard. It still made him feel weird, and it was worse now that he was so nervous. Perry, however, kept his eyes on the graveyard while they walked past, gazing almost wistfully at it. He could have been looking at an old album of family photos with the expression on his face. If Bo had seen, he would've wondered why he was making that expression.

They reached the heavy wooden door and Perry unlocked it, shuffling in while Bo followed behind. Hazy afternoon light filtered in sideways through the windows over the worn wooden pews and faded carpet. Bo expected the air inside to be heavy with dust motes, but it was surprisingly light and fresh, and the floors were swept, the wood polished. Perry had obviously been taking excellent care of the place. Bo felt almost guilty that only a few people ever came by.

"Over here," Perry said almost too quietly, walking toward the front left pew and staring at the floor. "This one's looking a little weak. I'm afraid it'll cave in if someone comes and sits on it. Mayor Hamilton usually sits up here, you see."

Bo knelt down and pressed his hands against the wood, bending it in slightly without much pressure. "Yeah," he mused quietly, "this is definitely going to need replacing. Are there any others that are, ah..."

As he looked up, he noticed that Perry had been staring at him. His face immediately flushed bright red as he finished his question. "Any others th-that are l-l-like this?"

Perry nodded quietly, turning away as he blushed himself. He hadn't meant to stare, but he couldn't help it. He was both fascinated and confused by the way Bo's strammer seemed to disappear when he was focusing on something like that. As his wiry frame hunched over another pew and pressed gently down on it, Perry couldn't help but notice and admire the quiet determination set behind his sea green eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: The Harvest Moon franchise and its characters still do not belong to me and I am not trying to steal them or make money of them or anything. I'm just writing a story. The characters may not be 100% accurate to their portrayals in the game because I took my own liberties so please do not get mad or expect the characters in game to be the way I describe them. Thank you and thanks for reading if you did._

Chapter 3

Dale set a hefty stack of lumber down in Bo's thin, waiting arms. "That's the last of it, then. Hurry on down to the church!"

Bo waddled out the door, barely able to hold it all, and scrambled as quickly as he could to the minecart, where much more wood already sat waiting inside. He slid the last bit in and stared at the whole bulk in an attempt to discern whether he would be able to wedge himself in the cart. There wasn't much room, but he figured since he was fairly small that he'd be able to squeeze in just behind the lumber and hold it steady to keep any from flying out while they sped down the tracks. He pushed the mass of wood slightly forward and eased his body down into the cart, wrapping his arms tightly around the wood as the cart started its descent.

As he sat behind the stack of lumber, he recalled the last time he'd ridden down, when he was with Perry. He immediately blushed at the thought and clutched the cargo more tightly. It might be a little uncomfortable riding with the cart nearly full of wood like this, but being pressed to the edge by a hunk of dead trees was much easier than riding with another living, breathing human in such close proximity. Especially with someone as handsome as Perry...

Bo shook his head and hit it lightly on the planks in his arms. Handsome? Since when had he started thinking Perry was handsome? He didn't, he told himself. Of course he didn't. Perry was just his acquaintance, one of the other lads who lived in the town. He wasn't handsome or attractive, Bo told himself while continuing to shake his head. He just had a certain aura about him, and a certain quality to his looks that was so gentle and pure and elegant, and his voice had such a nice ring behind it, and he looked so happy when he took care of that cat.

_And Bo couldn't stop thinking about him._

The cart reached the end of its journey abruptly, and the momentum of Bo's head sent his face slamming directly into the boards. He winced and reeled his head back, tilting his chin to the sky and uttering a long groan. He closed his eyes to try and get the pain under control, and when he did so, he thought he heard the faint rustling of the grass nearby from the wind. But it wasn't the wind.

"Bo?" Perry said worriedly. Bo opened his eyes to see Perry's face directly above him, looking down weoith brows knit in concern. He had worry wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his mouth were slightly turned down, his face drastically different from its usual look of peace and calm; Bo didn't like it. "Are you alright?" Perry asked,still concerned.

Bo wasn't really sure why, but he wanted Perry to stop looking so upset, so he flashed a grin and nodded earnestly, saying, "Yes, I'm f-fine." He realized angrily that he still couldn't shake the stutter when talking to Perry. "Just g-give me a s-s-second with this w-wood."

He got out of the cart and started heaving the wood out of the cart one plank at a time until he had a sizeable stack. He turned slightly to Perry and began, "Hey, could you give me a hand with..."

He trailed off when he saw Perry's face. His forehead had smoothed and his brows fallen to their normal position above those soft, melty eyes. He wore a slight smile that displayed relief, along with something else Bo couldn't quite pinpoint, and it was evident that he had been watching Bo closely from under those lashes. As their eyes met, a deep crimson spread across both their faces. Bo felt his heart pounding faster and faster until he could hear it ringing in his ears. "H-help me with th-th-this?" Why was he so nervous?

But then he already knew why he was so nervous. It was because Perry had been staring. And why did that make him so nervous? Bo sighed inwardly as he finally admitted it to himself- it was because Perry was good-looking.

No matter how relentlessly he denied it in his own mind, he couldn't convince himself that it was true. Sure, it was easy enough when he was alone and relying on his mind's shoddy rendition of Perry's face to act like it was true, but it was completely impossible with Perry here, in the flesh, right in front of him. He decided not to attempt to convince himself of anything to the same effect again, as it obviously wouldn't work. Instead, he just let himself believe that he only liked Perry's face, nothing more.

It wasn't that he was ashamed- he accepted himself fully. He was just nervous. He'd always thought men were attractive, but he'd never actually met a man he found attractive. He was afraid of increasing awkwardness since he now had to work with Perry to get this job done, and mentally warded off extraneous emotions that would only complicate his life. He just had to finish this job and then he would have to worry anymore. Deep breath in, deep breath out. He could do this. It would be fine.

The two men made a few trips back and forth between the cart and the church entrance until they had gathered all the wood in front of the doors. Perry unlocked the doors so Bo could enter,and he quickly transferred all of the materials inside and immediately began removing the worn down seats to be replaced with new ones. As he toiled away tirelessly, Perry moved to a distance where he wouldn't be a bother and watched him work.

As he watched Bo's slender yet muscular frame slaved away over the wood and the pews, Perry couldn't help but admire his focus. He was so fascinated by the precision and deftness behind each and every move, a natural ease that had never come to Perry in his career at the church. For that reason, he was somewhat glad that visitors rarely came to the church and he didn't have to do services- he had never been quite comfortable with it. He yearned so desperately for the finesse Bo clearly possessed, but it always eluded him.

He continued watching Bo for a while longer, then it occurred to him that staring wasn't exactly the most polite or acceptable thing to do. His face flushed bright red and he turned away, thankful that Bo was so intent on his work. Instead he stared out the window at the sea, its waves pounding steadily at the cliffs far beneath him. It was a cloudy day, and the ocean was dim under the looming gray, but Perry still thought it looked nice. It was quiet and understated, and though it could hold no candle to the dazzling brilliance it held under the midday sun or romantic sweetness it bore when the sun was setting, Perry still thought it was quite beautiful and charming in its own subtle way. After a very long time gazing out the window, he heard footsteps coming up behind him while he gazed wistfully at it through the window.

"I'm all, uh, f-f-finished," Bo said as he approached, his stutter kicking in when Perry turned to face him. Bo cursed internally, while Perry smiled, still in awe of the way his stutter appeared and disappeared with Bo's focus. Perry's eyes widened suddenly.

"Uh, right," Perry said, realizing. "I guess I, er, need to pay you now, right?" Bo nodded sheepishly, and Perry shuffled to the back where his bedroom was. He kept his wallet under the mattress, he just had to find it first... There it was. He opened it slowly and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

It was almost empty. He felt panic rising in his chest. Had he been robbed? No, that didn't make any sense. He made so little as it was, and nobody in town was that desperate for cash. Which meant he had to have spent it on something. But what? He searched his mind for an answer and his eyes wandered around the room until finally they settled on something- a stack of cans of cat food in the corner of the room. He felt a deep shame wash over him. Surely he hadn't spent all his money on cat food?

But the proof was in the pudding. The fact remained that there was a very large amount of cat food in the room and a very small amount of money in his wallet, not nearly enough to pay for all the repair work he had done on the pews. He sighed in exasperation. That darn cat. Well, he couldn't tell Bo. That was out of the question- it was so embarrassing! He just knew he'd be laughed at. He decided that he would just square his shoulders and face the issue, and explain why he was short on funds in the vaguest manner he could.

As he marched boldly toward the slightly hunched Bo, he felt his iron resolution dissipating. He knew he couldn't just brush Bo off if he asked for a reason, not with that doe-eyed and innocent look on his face, so he instead hoped Bo would just refrain from asking. Perry felt a blush heat up his face as he began speaking, and realized simultaneously that he'd been blushing a lot lately.

"Um, I don't really have the, uh..." Perry tried to choke out the words, but there was an embarrassed lump in his throat that wouldn't let him. "It's, uh, I can't, er... Can't pay..." Bo stared at Perry for a second, trying to let the words sink in, and Perry felt his face grow a deeper shade of red.

"You can't p-pay?" Bo stammered incredulously. Perry raised up his hands defensively.

"No, uh, not right now, but, um, when I get paid I can. I mean, um, you'll just have to come back, but it's, ah, it's not for another week." Perry was trying to hold it together, but he was growing more afraid by the moment that Bo would get angry and yell at him. Much to Perry's surprise, though, he only nodded.

"That's fine," Bo sighed. "Dale's really particular about the books, so I'll just pay it for now and you can reimburse me later." He stared at the ground, lamenting the fact that this couldn't just be over already and that he had to come back and be nervous and awkward around Perry again. He was so distraught that he didn't notice his own lack of stutter. But Perry noticed. He stared briefly, a curious trwinkle glowing in his eyes, then snapped his head down to face the ground, wringing his hands.

"Thanks," he said softly, "and, um, sorry. Really."

Bo hadn't asked why Perry couldn't afford to pay just yet, but he had a sneaking suspicion from the beginning, which he confirmed as he was leaving and he passed the cat, looking much healthier than it had a week ago. Had he really spent so much money taking care of this cat? Bo shook his head, but a smile slowly spread across his face. He's still just a pretty face, Bo told himself. Only nice to look at and nothing more.

But now he wasn't so sure.


End file.
